Shopping centres outside Bucharest were the most attractive real estate asset class for investors in 2025, accounting for almost 40% of the total transaction volume, according a new report by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. Bucharest office buildings came second, with a 30% share in the total investment volume.
The main retail assets which changed ownership in 2025 include Focșani Mall, Shopping City Suceava, as well as a portfolio of seven retail parks with a total gross leasable area of approximately 32,000 sqm, located in Slobozia, Focșani, Râmnicu Sărat, Târgu Secuiesc, Sebeș, Făgăraș and Gheorgheni. Moreover, Winmarkt Cluj-Napoca and Tulcea, La Cocoș Ploiești, Module Shopping Center Târgoviște or Joy Retail Park Calafat were among the transacted retail assets across 2025. The cumulative value of the retail deals reached approximately €200 million.
The most active buyer was the UK-based group M Core, which, supported by an acquisition and development strategy, strengthened its local presence and became the fourth-largest owner of retail properties in Romania. Investment activity in the office segment was recorded exclusively in Bucharest, where 10 buildings were sold, totalling almost 70,000 sqm and a combined value of approximately €155 million.
Despite record-high occupier demand for industrial and logistics spaces in 2025, this segment was less represented in investment transactions, as the volume pertaining to these assets dropped from nearly €300 million in 2024 to around €45 million in 2025. Overall, Romania's commercial real estate investment market totalled approximately €514 million in 2025, down 31% year-on-year, marking the second-lowest annual volume since 2013.
Cristi Moga, Head of Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox said: "2025 was a year marked by high activity levels and interest across all property sectors despite the lower transaction volume compared with previous years and to other markets in the region. 2026 has started on an optimistic note, with investors already allocating around €100 million to office buildings in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. The macroeconomic environment stabilisation, along with improving occupancy rates, infrastructure development and better financing conditions are creating the premises for a growth year, with higher volumes across all segments."
